Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis - Volume 138, Issue 3, 2025

‘A Black Man from the Land of Prester John’: Ethiopian visitors and the changing world view in the Burgundian Low Countries

In the 15th century, European monarchs were fascinated by the mythical Christian empire of Prester John. They considered the Ethiopian emperor a potential ally against the Turks. The Duke of Burgundy tried to make contact, but none of his envoys succeeded. In the opposite direction, dozens of Ethiopians found their way to Europe. This article reveals that they were often welcomed as guests in the Low Countries. Some Ethiopians undertook the long journey as pilgrims, in search of relics and liturgical objects, and as a result ensured that works of art from the Low Countries ended up in Ethiopian monasteries.

Sub-Saharan visitors discovered the Low Countries on their own initiative. This observation contradicts the classic Eurocentric narrative. The presence of black people was not exceptional, even in smaller towns. This led to a broadening of the world view in the Low Countries, which is reflected in the visual arts by the representation of Balthasar as a black magus.

More than a green movement. Environmental justice as a new perspective for Dutch historiography on environmental activism

This article argues that future research into the history of Dutch environmental activism should draw on environmental justice theory in order to broaden our understanding of environmental movements as new social movements. A new research agenda is proposed, based on a review of different international perspectives that broaden the definition of environmental activism, notably the perspectives of environmental justice, including environmentalism of the poor, and labour environmentalism. These frameworks reveal that the relationship and tension between polluting factories, factory workers, and inhabitants of polluted regions deserve more attention. The added value of this approach is demonstrated through the case of the Hoogovens steel plant in the Netherlands. A new history of environmental activism is needed to understand current and future environmental protests.